Posts By Celline Narinli

I love Australian folk music. I’m in Canada right now, and being away from home has made me appreciate the distinct sound of our local singer/songwriters on a whole new level. Right now, it’s Sydney outfit Little May who are helping with the queasy feeling of homesickness.

Little May’s debut single ‘Boardwalks’ is such a wonderful package of everything you love about folk music: soft, weathered vocals, a driving rhythmic section and lyrics that offer something a bit more. It’s difficult not to fall in love with the trio as they send you down a pensive spiral with their words and sounds. Taking inspiration from Fleetwood Mac and Local Natives, the trio features Liz Drummond, Hannah Field and Annie Hamilton. While the trio are relatively new, having formed only last year. They may be a folk outfit, but they are also undoubtedly resonating.

The three piece have handpicked certain elements to create their own fusion of percussion-heavy, guitar-driven folk. Coupled together with some intriguing storytelling, they’re doing it right.

‘Hide’ is the second taste of Little May’s upcoming EP, due in November.

If you’re in the need for a mood lifter, then look no further because Sydney outfit Castlecomer know how to treat your ears. Made up of four cousins and a friend, these guys are more than just your average roving family band that know how to harmonize.

‘Forrest’ is the latest track taken from Castlecomer’s forthcoming EP Lone Survivor. Led by a bouncy melody, this tune brings all of your fondest and wildest travel memories flooding back (sans the gastro, backpacker fornication and the overzealous use of #yolo of course).

It begins with an enchanting five-part harmony intro; half ‘Sun Giant’, half monastery chant. But soon after, the mood hastily shifts and an acoustic rhythm picks up, picks you out of your meditational state and swings you onto an open-roof jeep.

The band’s travels across India are captured on their Go-Pro here; rich in colour, youth and huge smiles. In fact, these guys might just be the reincarnated form of Rusted Root in their video for ‘Send Me On My Way’.

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Castlecomer are gearing up for a national tour. Check them out in your town and experience the feel-goods live.

Melbourne production duo Just A Touch (Denis Arbatov and Nick Fankhauser) have whipped up this funkalicious gem. You’ll also hear a familiar voice throughout – the one-man wolfpack, Alan Garner. Naturally titled ‘Wolfpack’, this is the first single from the duo. There’s a lot to feast on in three minutes; the Nile Rodgers flavoured guitar chords, the jolty bass line, the smirk of that cowbell – which all makes for a highly addictive disco jam.

‘Wolfpack’ is the only song available so far on their Soundcloud page, but I’m excited to see what else these guys come up with. For novelty’s sake, you know.

New kids on the block, Slumberhaze, have peeped their heads through that fresh Sydney morning fog with their first installment of a three-part EP project, Rhyme, Rhythm & Romance (Part 1).

The new four-track EP is a perfect taste of where the trio are heading with their obscure fusion of hip hop and post-rock, layered further with beautiful harmonies and spacey guitars.

‘Backspace’ dances its way into your head with its catchy vocal hook. The lead vocalist carries an eerie sounding set of wavering pipes, similar to that of Hayden Thorpe of Wild Beasts. Slumberhaze put their own stamp on Wild Beasts’ whimiscal melodies; fragmenting the bliss with bursts of down-tempo and soulful hip hop. Their love of all thing soul pops its head back up in ‘A Lot Of Love’, until it swells into a brutal and guitar-heavy orchestra of sounds. Foraying into darker, more melodic territory, ‘Until The Summer’ is a highlight on this release; beautifully littered and broken up with offcuts of spoken word.

A release for the oddball romantic. Looking forward to Part 2.

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Slumberhaze are playing in Sydney this Saturday 8 June at the Oxford Art Factory. Check it out.

Australian instrumental rock bands are generally a very underrated and under-heard species. With a little bit of creativity and imagination In this genre, bands get the chance to purely focus on the wondrous avenues music alone can take them to. Bands such as Mr. Maps (Brisbane) and Apricot Rail (Perth) are doin’ it right. So are Ghost Notes.

Ghost Notes are a six-piece instrumental band from Brisbane who’ve been kicking around since 2009. They’ve released a brand new single ‘Go Where It Takes You’, which follows on from their incredibly rich By Cover Of Night LP. The track sticks to the band’s signature jazzy, post-rock element, with that stark lead trumpet taking us all for a wander. And while we’re all in Gatsby mode, this could make a fitting soundtrack to that intense moment where Leo decides to snort diamantes.

The glorious thing about this 6 minute epic is the mystery and romanticism captured in the lead melody. The track sits on top of an unsettled and messy percussive bed of sounds. Listening to Ghost Notes is like watching the highlights reel of a good film in your mind; it’s unpredictable and exciting. More people should definitely be paying attention to this band, and this entire genre in Australia.

Amongst the huge volume of surfer-rock outfits currently pouring out of Geelong, Atolls are leading the pack. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard bass guitarist Lucas Skinner – who you’ll hear on lead vocals here) started Atolls as a side project. After penning couple of demos, he quickly recruited Oli Grinter and Sam Ingles to expand on Atolls’ sound.The fuzz-pop trio now have an excellent debut EP Hair Machine in their mitts, which includes scrubbed up versions of previously released demos ‘Water’, ‘Mumble’ and ‘Worn’.

From the poppy jolt of ‘Mumble’ to the bolder and grungier offering, ‘Worn, Hair Machine will send you on a blissful psychedelic trip. The trio truly excel in laidback, shoegazey guitar work, although livelier tracks ‘Old Rosie’ and ‘Darkness’ will definitely pull you out of the haze .The cover artwork still creeps me out, but it’s a good disclaimer for the audio/visual mind-melt ahead.

Jenny Broke The Window is definitely one of the more interesting and unconventional band names I’ve come across.

Hailing from the South Coast of NSW, the indie-pop outfit’s new single ‘Ravel’ is feverishly catchy – from the bouncy string sample intro to the track’s anthemic hook, there’s an energy present throughout the entire duration of the song that compels you with giddy desire to skip, dance or do something!

The five-piece have crafted a single that continually shifts and evolves. It’s a mash-up of musical ideas sewn together ever-so-smoothly, while the production on this is slick.

‘Ravel’ is the first of two new songs Jenny Broke The Window has recorded this year with a video also currently in the works. They’ll be launching ‘Ravel’ at The Standard in Sydney on the 23rd of May, with support from The Preatures DJs, Gang Of Youths and Rockets.

In the meantime, highly recommend giving their previous EP Another Summer a spin.

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